Real Madrid: Vinicius Jr. dances in defiance amid racist abuse from Atletico fans

There was a lot of noise surrounding Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior ahead of the Madrid Derby after he was subjected to racist abuse by Spanish agent Pedro Bravo. The Brazilian forward was criticised for dancing to celebrate his goals, with Pedro telling him to "stop playing the monkey."

The comment was met with furious reactions from the football community, with many footballers from rival clubs expressing their support. However, on Sunday evening, Vinicius responded on the pitch itself when he and teammate Rodrygo Goes danced together after the latter scored the opening goal against the home side at the Civitas Metropolitano stadium.

The other Real Madrid players gathered together by the corner flag to celebrate even as the crowd pelted them with various objects. Stadium security had to be alerted and an announcement was made over the PA system to tell the crowd to stop throwing objects onto the pitch.

Apart from the missiles, Atletico Madrid fans were heard chanting racist abuse all evening, with some even carrying stuffed monkeys in a despicable act of racism against the player.

Referee Munuera Montero had to call the attention of field marshals on numerous instances as the atmosphere continued to grow more tense inside the stadium. Atletico Madrid fans became more aggressive as the reigning La Liga champions scored another goal via Fede Valverde, who took advantage of a Vinicius attempt that bounced off the post.

Mario Hermoso managed to score a consolation goal for the home side with less than ten minutes remaining, but it was too late to find an equaliser. Atletico were dangerous in the opening minutes, but after Rodrygo's goal in the 18th minute, the momentum clearly shifted in favour of the visitors despite the abusive behaviour coming from the stands.

Real Madrid maintain their unbeaten streak as they defend their La Liga title, and remain on top of the table. Meanwhile, Vinicius did not get on the scoresheet, but he did well to provide opportunities that led to the goals.

"You're a monkey, Vinicius, you're a monkey" could be heard all over the stadium, but the Brazilian showed that he will do his talking, or dancing, on the pitch.

He received a lot of support from the likes of Neymar Jr. and legend Ronaldo Nazario, who all joined in the campaign to keep him dancing with the hashtag #BailaViniJr. Neymar, who plays for rival side PSG, even said that he wanted his compatriot to score a goal.

Vini also took to social media to share his reaction after Bravo's comments initially came out. In an Instagram post, he said, "As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war."

"Weeks ago they began to criminalise my dances. Dances that are not mine. They belong to Ronaldinho, Neymar, Paqueta, Griezmann, Joao Felix, Matheus Cunha... they belong to Brazilian funk and samba artists, reggaeton singers, and black Americans. They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. Accept it, respect it. I'm not going to stop," he said.

Indeed, he did not stop, and by the way he has been playing so far this season, one can expect that there will be many more dance moves that will bust out in the coming months.

It remains to be seen if Atletico Madrid will take action against fans that displayed abusive behaviour during the Madrid Derby.